Dr. Cynthia J. Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her most recent work has focused on democratic governance, conflict resolution, citizen security and organized crime, international relations, and U.S. policy in the Western hemisphere. Arnson is a member of the editorial advisory board of Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, the Spanish-language edition of the distinguished journal Foreign Affairs. She is a member of the advisory boards of Human Rights Watch/Americas and the Social Science Research Council’s Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum. She served as associate director of the Americas division from 1990-1994, covering Central America and Colombia. In the early 1980s, as a consultant to Americas Watch, Arnson wrote many of the organization’s first reports on human rights conditions in El Salvador.

Arnson is the editor of In the Wake of War: Democratization and Internal Armed Conflict (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 2012); and co-editor, with Carlos de la Torre, of Latin American Populism in the 21st Century (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013). She is editor of Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 1999), co-editor (with I. William Zartman) of Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), and author of Crossroads: Congress, the President, and Central America, 1976-1993 (2d ed., Penn State Press, 1993). Since joining the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program in 1994, she has written or edited scores of Woodrow Wilson Center publications on Colombia and the Andean region, Central America, Argentina, Venezuela, China-Latin American relations, citizen security and organized crime, energy, human rights, and U.S. policy in the Western hemisphere.

Arnson served as an assistant professor of international relations at American University's School of International Service, 1989-1991. As a foreign policy aide in the House of Representatives during the Carter and Reagan administrations, she participated in the national debates over U.S. policy and human rights in the Southern Cone and in Central America. Arnson graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Education

Ph.D., International Relations, and M.A., Latin American Studies, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; B.A., Government, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

Subjects

Honors

American Fellow, American Association of University of Women Educational Foundation

Experience

Frequent writer and lecturer on Colombia and U.S. policy in Latin America; professor, American University; legislative assistant, U.S. House of Representatives; Associate Director, Human Rights Watch/Americas

This article discusses CELAC and Raúl Castro's hope to seek regional reintegration of Cuba. Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson comments on the opportunity that CELAC provides for this reintegration. This article is in Spanish. more

Cynthia Arnson comments on the removal of Gustavo Petro, Bogota's mayor and a former M-19 guerrillero, and how it could undermine general trust in the political system as a democratic arena for conflict resolution and political participation by leftist parties. more

This article discusses Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' recent visit to Washington, D.C. Most sectors in Washington see Colombia as having had tremendous success in the past decade, although there is much less optimism in Colombia. Cynthia Arnson discusses the high-level talks and gives an analysis of perceptions in Colombia. This article is in Spanish. more

Director Cynthia Arnson provides her expertise in an interview on NTN24's "Zoom a la Noticia". She discusses the recent election results in Chile on a panel with other experts. The interview is in Spanish. more

LAP Director Cyndi Arnson participated in a presentation of a UNDP report on citizen security. She commented on the strength of government institutions in Latin America and the need for judicial reform. more

As civil unrest continues in Venezuela, we asked Latin American Program Director, Cindy Arnson, for an update on the sometimes violent situation. She provides insight into what’s happening, the government’s response, and whether or not the situation can be resolved any time soon.

Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson comments on the relationship between El Salvador and the U.S. in this article about the new El Salvadoran President and the alterations to U.S.-Salvadoran relations that his ascension may cause.

Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson is quoted in this article about the relationship between Venezuela and the Organization of American States, including the response to the current crisis in Venezuela. This article is in Spanish.

Pages

On July 28, we bring to Washington top experts and policymakers from seminars in Colombia, Barbados, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Peru, to further broaden the dialogue about climate adaptation and population dynamics in Latin America and the Caribbean; and to encourage the development of new policy and programmatic tools that help countries of the region meet the financial, organizational, and political challenges that climate change presents.

Citizen security practitioners from Antioquia, Colombia; Salta, Argentina; and Santiago, Chile will discuss the strategies they have employed, as well as the successes and ongoing challenges they face.

Throughout much of Latin America, the "golden years" of economic growth during the last decade's commodity boom have given way to economic decline or stagnation. At the same time, a mobilized citizenry is demanding better government performance. These two factors have focused unprecedented attention on rule of law deficits and official corruption. Meanwhile, relations among countries of the hemisphere have grown more complex. As much as the region has welcomed the normalization of U.S.-Cuban relations, the options for international insertion now extend far beyond the Western Hemisphere.

This teleconference call will discuss the impact on the politics and economy of Cuba and the regime’s motivation and strategy going forward. What are the benefits and risks of this policy shift? What is the relationship, if any, between economic incentives and a broader political opening? Why is the Cuban government interested in better relations with the United States? Join us BY PHONE as three U.S.-Cuba experts discuss what these policy changes will mean concretely for Cubans on the island.

What are China’s economic, political, and strategic interests in the region? And while China is the most important Asian partner for many Latin American countries, how have relations with other Asian countries—India, South Korea, Japan—also broadened considerably?

Experts who took part in a June 2000 discussion reveal that countries in the Andean region suffer from deep problems of governance: crisis of citizenship, reflected in widespread apathy and low levels of participation in the political process; the decline of political parties; corruption and a lack of accountability of civilian as well as military elites; weak institutions; and the military's involvement in politics.

This book explores the phenomenon of leftist governments in Latin America from the perspective of human rights and civic participation. Topics include accountability for past violations, new challenges in promoting human rights, political participation and civil state society, and social politics and civil society.

This report examines China's presence in Latin America from the perspectives of both regions. It pays special attention to the nature of the economic and geopolitical relationship, and how the U.S. should respond to China's growing presence in its own "backyard."

Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed questions the adequacy of explaining today's internal armed conflicts purely in terms of economic factors and reestablishes the importance of identity and grievances in creating and sustaining such wars. This collection of essays responds to current works asserting that the income from natural resources is the end and not just a means for warring rebel groups. The study puts greed in its place and restores the importance of deprivation and discrimination as the primary causes of armed conflict within states. Countries studied include Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Colombia, and Afghanistan. More about this title can be found on the Wilson Center Press website.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

Cynthia J. Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Robert S. Litwak is Vice President for Programs and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center